The Other Documentary on Education

Madeleine Sackler has entered her very own lottery of sorts. The first-time documentary director’s film, “The Lottery” has been shortlisted as one of the 15 titles eligible to be nominated for an Oscar. The 81-minute film follows four families from Harlem and the Bronx in the three months leading up to a charter school lottery.

Sackler, along with CBS news anchor Katie Couric, outgoing New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein and New York’s police commissioner Ray Kelly, gathered for lunch at Brasserie Ruhlmann recently to discuss the film and its Oscar odds.

“We are in peril of losing the American dream,” Klein said to a room filled with parents, journalists, hedge fund managers and film producers. Just before he spoke, Klein scribbled some notes on the back of a restaurant menu. “If you have a heart, this film, and the statistics on education in this country, will rip it right out of your chest,” he said.